• 27 MCC employees, three in Sub-Registrar Office test positive 
• On an average, Mysuru reports 400 cases per day; death rates too see a spike

Mysore/Mysuru: Government officers in Mysuru have appealed general public to refrain from visiting offices citing the resurgence of COVID-19 positive cases. They have requested people to seek information through email, phone, fax or SMS instead of visiting offices physically.

Officers have been instructing visitors not to come to the office unless the work in very important. “A number of visitors come to offices every day to inquire about their pending work or some other reasons and hence we wanted to convey messages that if not urgent, avoid visiting the office,” an officer from the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) said. 

The system is being practiced at all Government offices including MCC, MUDA, CADA Office, Taluk Offices, all Zonal Offices of the MCC and also the Sub-Registrar offices. 

The latest advisory comes in the wake of an officer at Sub-Registrar Office at Mini Vidhana Soudha in Nazarbad and three outsourced employees testing positive for COVID-19. Also, over 27 employees of MCC tested positive and two MCC employees have lost their lives in the past two days. The civic body has over 3,000 employees including 2,200 Pourakarmikas. 

27 MCC employees test positive

Over 27 MCC employees tested positive for the virus as mass RT-PCR tests were conducted following Mayor Rukmini Madegowda contracting the disease. Many more employees who have undergone the tests are awaiting the results. As hundreds of people visit the MCC office every day, tracking the primary and secondary contacts has become a challenge.

Mysuru has been reporting an average of 400 cases per day and there has been an increase in the death rate during the on-going second wave of infection. As of yesterday, Mysuru had 2,665 active cases and added 415 infections in 24 hours. With this, the total number of people infected has gone up to 60,163 and 56,395 have been discharged. 

Last evening’s media bulletin released by the District Administration said that there has been five deaths taking the total number of people dying in Mysuru to 1,103. In the second wave itself, more than 55 people have lost their lives. Till now, 2,86,670 persons in the District have been vaccinated. 

Extra safety measures

As some of the employees of the MCC and the Sub-Registrar’s Office tested positive, extra precautions are being taken at all Government offices. Offices including Health Department, Revenue Department, engineering division, auditing wing and the MCC Zonal offices are noting down phone numbers of visitors to inform them of the work getting completed or pending. This is to avoid one-on-one meetings. 

Several Police Stations and MCC Zonal Offices are taking applications from the public through the windows and the entry of outsiders has been barred. In the new and old Court complex too, entry of public has been banned with permission granted only to some lawyers. 

At the entry points of all Court complexes, every person, including the members of the Bar, are being subjected to thermal scanning. If it is revealed that any one has the symptoms of COVID-19, he/she shall be denied entry into the Court Complex. 

Take these precautions at office

• Most of the virus infections are contracted from equipment in the offices
• Avoid touching lift buttons or use a tissue to touch it. If you are taking the stairs, avoid touching the walls or railing.
• Avoid common equipment that directly come in contact with the face or mouth or even hands
• Avoid using landline telephones in common areas as static phones are virus carriers. Use mobile phones instead. Also, do not hand over your mobile phone to other colleagues
• Before beginning your day’s work, disinfect the desk and the desktop
• Make sure you leave at least a seat’s distance between you and your colleague
• If you absolutely have to touch a handle or a door knob, sanitise your hands immediately 
• Avoid shaking hands. In case of a meeting, make sure there are not too many people in the room